A long-term relationship is successful when both parties put in the hard work and are realistic.

They realize that a relationship is not always going to be rosy.

They realize that there will be differences of opinion from time to time.

They take due note of this.

They realize that there will be moments when they may not want to be around each other.

However, they are able to accept these facts and allow their relationship to flow.

The couple make a true effort to work through the issues.

They talk about them and find solutions without letting those problems fester for months or years.

This kind of realistic and hardworking approach is what really helps to make a long-term relationship successful.

A long-term relationship also has to be balanced.

One partner cannot keep winning.

This is not a competition or a game.

When it becomes all about conceding so that one partner is happy that they have won, this long-term relationship is in trouble.

This is where so many couples fail.

It becomes all about making the other partner happy even when that partner may be wrong.

This is not right.

A long-term relationship is successful when both partners are equally willing to take the blame and fess up to where they may have gone wrong.

Both partners have to be willing to look at themselves as a team.

This is a team sport.

It is not a single member sport.

A team has to work together in order to win. If they don’t, they will lose.

When a couple approaches their long-term relationship with this mentality, they have the greater likelihood of being successful.

They will know that this is not about one person winning over the other.

This is about both partners working together as a team in order to get the desired result.

A long-term relationship is successful when each partner gives the other some room to be their own person.

Some couples make the mistake of doing too much together without allowing each other the time to do their own thing.

It is important to have moments of separation where either party is pursuing or engaging in something that is meaningful to them.

Maintaining a degree of individuality is really important in making a long-term relationship successful.

There has to be that space. These are the moments where both partners are growing as individuals.

The stronger the individual, the stronger the relationship.

When partners spend all their time together, they lose their sense of uniqueness.

They begin to forget what it is that made them so unique in the first place.

Their partner also begins to forget this.

Once this happens, there isn’t that much to hold on to.

The partner becomes a shell of the person they once were.

This would not be an exciting person to be with.

It would create a degree of boredom in the relationship that often makes a partner stray or become emotionally distant.

This is the last thing you should want.

A long-term relationship needs two unique individuals to keep it going successfully.